Healthcare AI adoption lags behind other sectors

Though AI adoption within the healthcare industry has spiked significantly since 2023, it lags behind adoption in other sectors, according to new research.

Published in JAMA Health Forum, the research letter assessed real-time trends of AI adoption in the healthcare sector and compared it with other sectors of the economy. Researchers analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) to examine changes in AI use from September 2023 to May 2025. The survey polls 1.2 million firms annually about their use of AI for business purposes.

Between September 2023 and May 2025, the researchers found that the mean AI use in healthcare by firms was 5.9%. AI use in healthcare grew from below 5% in 2023 to approximately 8.3% 2025.

Still, AI use within the healthcare sector was lower than in other sectors. For instance, in 2025, AI use within the information services and the professional, scientific, and technical service sectors was 23.2% and 19.2%, respectively. That figure for the finance and insurance sector was 11.6% and the education sector was 15.1%.

The largest increases in AI use within the healthcare sector were observed in the outpatient and ambulatory care arena, where the proportion of firms using AI increased from 4.6% in 2023 to 8.7% in 2025. Nursing and residential care facilities experienced smaller increases in AI use, growing from 3.1% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2025.

"Future research is necessary to understand the reasons and consequences of lower rate of AI adoption in health care, particularly in certain subsectors, such as nursing and residential care facilities," the researchers wrote.

However, researchers also noted that the rapid increase in AI use in healthcare since 2023 "highlights the urgent need for active monitoring and effective regulations to ensure safe and efficient deployment of AI in patient care."

AI governance is especially critical within the healthcare sector, as AI risks like inaccuracies and biases could negatively impact patient outcomes. Not only that, but AI use raises data privacy, clinician over-reliance and patient trust concerns.

The healthcare industry is working towards AI governance standards and guidelines.

Internally, health systems are setting up AI governance committees and establishing frameworks for assessing AI models, vendor selection and implementation protocols. Additionally, within the broader industry, efforts to offer AI governance tools, including accreditations, certification programs and AI playbooks, are ongoing.

Anuja Vaidya has covered the healthcare industry since 2012. She currently covers the virtual healthcare landscape, including telehealth, remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics.